The dollar has ceased to be the most used currency for global payments for the first time since 2013, according to SWIFT data for October 2020. Bloomberg links the decrease in the share of the US currency with political instability.
SWIFT processes cross-border payment messages for over 11,000 financial institutions in 200 countries. In October, system data showed that the dollar accounted for 37.6% of transactions, while the euro accounted for 37.8%. Back in March, the dollar accounted for almost 45% of payments.
Trade turmoil, the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, and political instability continue to affect both the dollar and its share in the calculations, writes Bloomberg. According to the publication's index, compared to March, the dollar sank by 11% against a basket of major currencies.
In third place in terms of the share in cross-border settlements is the pound sterling, in fourth place is the Japanese yen. The Chinese yuan slipped to sixth place in October, down 1.66%, outperforming the Canadian dollar. In the currencies of Great Britain, Japan and Canada, 12.25% of transactions were carried out together.
The share of the ruble in cross-border SWIFT payments Bloomberg does not give, but a year ago it was at the level of 0.3%.
Many analysts predict further weakening of the US currency. For example, bank Citigroup believes that the dollar will fall 20% against major currencies in 2021 if COVID-19 vaccines become widespread and help revive global trade and economic growth, most of which will not be in the United States. And the founder of the investment company Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio , explained that the United States prints (actually just changes the numbers on computers) money and distributes it to the Americans, because of which the country will at some point be left with a big hole in the budget and a huge bill to pay .
about the future of the main reserve currency and how to behave as a private investor, especially for the Bell.Professional project in his report (paid material). Evgeny Dorofeev, head of investment products for wealthy clients of Tinkoff Bank, spoke